


Arriving in Alcamoth

by SilverWolf96



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Kids, alcamoth, eryth sea, kromars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-02 03:37:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5232476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverWolf96/pseuds/SilverWolf96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dickson and Alvis arrive in Alcamoth after seeing Shulk and the others of at Sword Valley. They meet Kallian. Later, Dickson gets to meet some locals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The arrival

After saying goodbye to the group Dickson, Alvis and some of the other Homs boarded the transport ships and set off toward Alcamoth. The few remaining Homs would stay at Sword Valley to support Shulk and the others with things they might need.  
The ships weren't very big. There were some chairs and a small table in the middle of the main room, right behind where the control room was. Weapons and equipment were all over the walls.  
As soon as the ship left the ground, Dickson put his gunblade on the table, then sat down in one of the chairs and threw his feet up on the table. He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to get comfortable. He didn't hear Alvis walk up to the table and sit down on the other side of the table before he spoke.  
”Are you tired?” Dickson slowly opened his eyes and looked at the other man across the table.  
”Yeah, not sleeping for days does that to you.”  
And he hadn't slept for quite a while. After getting Alvis' message about the allied force and meeting them at Sword Valley he hadn't had a lot of time to get ready. Which meant a few sleepless nights in order to get the anti-mechon weapons ready.  
Shulk had he Monado, so he didn't need one. But one for Reyn and one for the Colony 6 girl, Sharla was it? Dunban already had one, but he could use a stronger one. Aside from that Alvis had written about two others who had joined the group and they needed anti-mechon weapons as well.  
One was a Noppon, who used biters in battle. He had seen those before, but he had never built one. That was a bit of a challenge on its own.  
The other one was a High Entia girl, who used an ether staff. When using ether arts with a normal staff, she could hurt Mechon, but an anti-mechon weapon would let her do even more damage. Once again, a weapon he had never made before.  
Making the weapons had taken time, as well as getting the materials. Getting everything had also cost him quite a bit of money. And then those brats started complaining that he wanted them to pay for the weapons...  
He shook himself out of his thoughts when Alvis started talking again.  
”It will take us a couple of hours to reach Alcamoth. I would recommend you take advantage of that and rest a bit. Once we arrive, his highness Kallian will want to meet us”  
Dickson just ‘Hmmm’d, folded his arms behind his head, closed his eyes and leaned back again. He didn't sleep quite yet, but instead thought about everything he had learned when he met the group.  
Finding out there were Homs inside the faced Mechon hadn't been much of a surprise. He had expected something like that. Mumkhar attacking Colony 9 was no surprise either. The man had never really fit into the colony, and had always been a fairly unreliable guy. His hatred for Dunban hadn't been hidden from him either.  
He had not expected Fiora to be a faced Mechon, since he had assumed she had died, like he had been told. But it didn't come as too much pf a surprise either. After all, her body had never been found, which means the Mechon took it.  
It had been nice to see Shulk, Dunban and Reyn again. They seemed to have gotten stronger and gained more confidence. Same could be said for the Colony 6 girl.  
The new members in the group had been interesting, to say the least.  
The Noppon, Riki, had been a typical Noppon. Short attention span and childlike enthusiasm. But this was the first Noppon who would go fight the mechon, which made him stand out from others.  
The High Entia girl, Melia, had gotten his interest as well. She had small wing, so she was obviously half Homs. She didn't speak much, but when she did, it was in a clear posh accent. That would suggest royal background. But then again, he wouldn't be surprised if most High Entia spoke in at least somewhat posh accents...

He didn't even notice he had fallen asleep until he heard Alvis talk to him again.  
”Dickson, wake up. We have arrived in Alcamoth.”  
He stretched slightly before sitting up in the chair and rubbing an arm over his eyes. He was still tired, but a bit less than before. He noticed Alvis and the other Homs, who had been driving the ship, were ready to get out. He stood up and grabbed his gunblade, swinging it over his shoulder. He grind at the two others.  
”Shall we go then?”  
”Yes”, Alvis nodded. Then he turned to the other Homs. ”I think it's better if you stay here for now.” The man nodded and sat down in one of the chairs.  
Avis turned back to Dickson.  
”I will lead the way. Many High Entia will most likely stare at you quite a bit. We don't get Homs here very often. Just ignore them.”  
”No problem. Let's just go meet the prince or whatever.” Alvis rolled his eyes a bit at the answer, then smiled slightly.  
”You haven't changed one bit, Dickson.”  
Then they stepped out into the city of Alcamoth.  
The first thing Dickson saw when he stepped out was the huge building, presumably the palace where they were heading. There were lots of High Entia walking around doing their daily stuff. And many of them did, indeed, stare at him like Alvis said.  
He held his head high as he followed Alvis toward the palace, completely ignoring the gawking people around him. He noticed a few Noppon in the city as well, which didn't surprise him one bit. Noppon got along well with just about anything.  
Soon they arrived at palace. Dickson noticed all the guards either at their posts or patrolling the area. Their armors looked pretty sturdy, but the wings outside the helmets confused him a bit. Wouldn't it hurt them if the wings got damaged? Weird design choice, but he could only assume there was a reason for it.  
They went deeper into the palace, to a fountain with stairs on both sides. They went up the stairs and continued to a transporter. Here Alvis turned to Dickson again.  
”This transporter will lead to the Audience Chamber, where prince Kallian will meet us. It shouldn't take very long, and afterwards you will be given a room where you can rest during your time here.”  
Dickson nodded. ”Okay, let's go meet the prince.” They then walked into the transporter and to the Audience Chamber.  
In the Audience Chamber there were more guards and at the end of the room stood a man Dickson assumed to be the prince. Alvis walked to the man and kneeled before him. Yep, definitely the prince. He also noticed Lorithia standing a bit to the side. Dickson decided to just stand beside Alvis, and let the others do the talking while he observed. And ignored Lorithia. She hated being ignored.  
The prince didn't look very old, but High Entia didn't age the same way Homs did. He was probably over a hundred years old. He had large wings, meaning he was a pure-blooded High Entia. He had short silvery hair, like all High Entia. He wore a sort of armor, as well as a dark blue cape. He stod tall, and his eyes were determinate. He started talking to Alvis.  
”Seer, it is good to see you back. Are Shulk and the others at Sword Valley?”  
”Yes, your highness” Alvis answered, lifting his head to look at the prince. ”Shulk and the others are travelling through Sword Valley and toward Galahad Fortress as we speak.”  
The prince nodded, apparently pleased with the news. He looked briefly at Dickson before turning to Alvis again.  
”And who is your friend?”  
Dickson was just about to introduce himself, but Alvis beat him to it.  
”This is Dickson. He is the representative of the Homs regarding the allied force. He fought in the Battle of Sword Valley. He is Shulk's guardian and Dunban's friend. He is also an old acquaintance of mine.”  
The prince nodded at this as well, before turning to address Dickson.  
”It's nice to have you here, Dickson. I am Kallian, prince and current regent of the High Entia. As you know, we're hoping for the allied force to come together as quickly as possible. We are going to send word to the Noppon and other Homs so they can be a part of it. The ministry of research are developing anti-mechon weapons and other things. Do you have any ideas?”  
Dickson took a moment to think about it. It seemed like a good plan. Just one thing...  
”Sounds pretty good to me. I would like to write to the Homs myself, though. Old Otharon in Colony 6 is probably not going to like this whole thing very much. He is more likely to come if I ask him to. I also need him to bring some soldiers from Colony 9. That okay?”  
Otharon would be angry at the High Entia for not helping at the Battle of Sword Valley, but he probably would agree, eventually. Kallian seemed to think about this.  
”All right. You can write the message to the Homs. They are probably more likely to listen to someone they know. Could you do it right away? I would like to get it done as soon as possible.”  
Dickson shrugged. That wasn't a problem. He already knew what to tell Otharon, anyway.  
”Sure, no problem. Just get me some paper and a pen”.  
Right after he said that, a guard came forth, holding out a pen and a block of paper for him.  
”Thanks” he said to the guard. That sure was quick. Did the guards always carry around a pen and paper, he wondered, as he started writing. A couple of minutes later it was done. He gave the pen and rest of the paper back to the guard. Then he turned to Kallian.  
”There, done.” He folded the paper in half, not really knowing who to give it to. Kallian nodded again.  
”Thank you. You can give it to Donnis” He pointed to one of the guards who stepped forward. ”He will deliver it to Colony 6”.  
Dickson gave the note to the guard who took it and, after a nod from Kallian, left the room, probably to get ready to go to Colony 6. Kallian turned to Dickson again.  
”Thank you. You will now be shown to your room by Galdo” another guard stepped forward” so you can get some rest if you wish. I will discuss some matters with the Seer and Lorithia.”  
At this, Dickson finally turned toward Lorithia. She was glaring at him with a loo that clearly said ”I don't trust you, and I'm keeping my eyes on you”. He just gave her a confident grin, knowing it would annoy her. And he could see it did. If looks could kill...  
He looked at Alvis for a second.  
”I guess I'll see you later?” Alvis stood up and walked over to him.  
”Yes. I would show you around Alcamoth, but I have my duties. Maybe another time.”  
Dickson nodded to him, and then to the prince, before following Galdo. Rest sounded pretty good right about now. They walked through the transporter, went down the stairs and turned to the left. They stooped at the second door, which revealed another transporter. They took it and ended up in a corridor. Then they stopped at the fourth door.  
”This is your room” Galdo told him. ”You can rest or spend time here whenever you wish. You are also free to walk around the palace and Alcamoth however you wish.”  
He opened the door for Dickson and then gave him the key.  
”If you need anything, feel free to ask one of the guards. They all know you are here as a guest.” With that, he walked away, maybe to return to his duties.  
”Cheers” Dickson said. He wasn't sure if the guard heard him. Whatever.  
He walked into the room. It looked pretty nice. There was a large bed, a small table and some chairs. There was also a large window with some blue curtains. When he opened them, he got a nice view of Alcamoth and Eryth Sea beyond it. There was a door that led to a small bathroom. All in all, the room was very comfortable.  
Even though it was only noon, Dickson decided to rest a bit, since he still was very tired. Just for a few hours. He could check out Alcamoth later. He kicked of his boots, put his gunblade on the small table, and laid down on the bed, without bothering with anything else.  
He was fast asleep within minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

Arriving in Alcamoth chapter 2

Dickson woke up feeling refreshed. The first thing he did was check the clock to see how long he had been asleep. 7.30 pm. A few hours then. Second thing he did was notice he really needed a smoke. Well, he had been told he could walk around freely. He got up to put on his boots and grab his gunblade. He made his way to the door before remembering he had to grab the key to the room as well. After grabbing that, he headed out.  
After navigating through some halls, he finally made his way to the great main hall. It was darker than it was earlier, and there were different guards than before. He also managed to spot the prince, Kallian, standing before the fountain with the mural describing the battle between the Bionis and the Mechonis. He decided to walk up to the prince, in case he had something interesting on his mind. The prince didn’t even notice him when he walked up.  
“Hey” Dickson said, noticing with humor that Kallian jumped slightly at his voice. “What’re you doing out here?” Kallian turned slightly to face him before answering.   
“Just thinking” He hesitated a moment before continuing. “About my sister. I worry about her.” At Dickson’s confused look, he clarified. “Melia. She went with Shulk and the others. I hope they are all right. They are heading to the Mechon’s base, after all.”  
“Well…” Dickson paused slightly, thinking about it. “She seemed just fine when we saw them off. Don’t know what she’s like, but I know Dunban and Shulk don’t let people get hurt on their watch. She should be just fine, Mechon base or not.”   
Kallian looked thoughtful and slightly relieved. “Yes, I suppose you are right.” They stood there in silence a few minutes before Dickson commented out of nowhere.  
“Crown princess, huh. Didn’t think you would just let her run off into danger.” He turned to Kallian to see his reaction. There wasn’t much noticeable, just a slight tightening in his shoulders.  
“I couldn’t stop her from going. If she had stayed, she would have been Unhappy and worried about them. To let her go was the better choice.” He turned to fully face Dickson with a small smile on his face. “Thank you.” He then turned around to walk away, but Dickson interrupted him.   
“You know when the folks from Colony 6 and Colony 9 are supposed to arrive?” Kallian took a few moments to think before answering.   
“They should be arriving at noon tomorrow. Would you like to be informed once they arrive?” Dickson didn’t even need to think about the answer. He already knew he did.  
“Yeah, that’d be great. I’d like to have a few words with Otharon before the meeting.” And tell him to at least hear what it was about before chewing out the prince and the High Entia in general. Kallian seemed to get what he wasn’t saying.  
“Well, I will ask Donnis to tell you once they are arriving. If that’s all, I will take my leave. Good night.” He turned around and walked away before Dickson had the chance to say anything.  
Oh well, he just shrugged. It’s not like he had anything to say, anyway.  
People needed reassurance of their loved one’s safety, and being a prince didn’t change that. Whatever, he still needed a smoke. He turned his back to the fountain and headed down the long hall to get out of the palace. He walked out the massive door, and headed to the railing where he could look down over the lower level.   
There he picked out his pack of cigars, picked out one from the pack, held it between his teeth while he put the pack away and finally lit it up. He took a long drag from the cigar, feeling the smoke making its way down to his lungs, before exhaling, blowing out all the smoke. He was feeling better already. More relaxed.   
He stared out at Eryth Sea beyond the capital, and beyond that, the Mechonis. It’s eerily glowing red eyes were clearly visible from here. He looked around and had to admit, the capital was a nice place. The dome was keeping the rain away, and the whole place looked clean and peaceful. A perfect place to live, never having to worry about anything.   
He snorted, shaking his head. Yeah, right. More like a bubble, separating them from the rest of the world. Keeping away from the Homs, keeping away from the Mechon. Letting their ‘amazing’ technology and defenses handle any Mechon attacks. While at the same time keeping the people completely ignorant to anything outside their perfect little world. No one even knew they existed, aside from the Noppon, who found their way pretty much everywhere.   
At least they had started to come out of their bubble, making contact with the Homs once again. Too bad it took them being attacked by the Mechon to figure out they weren’t as perfect as they thought. Oh, well. Bygones be bygones. At least for him. He had a feeling Otharon wasn’t going to just leave it at that. But he’d tackle that problem when they got to it.  
He looked out again, taking not of the meteor shower. It was rather beautiful, not something you could see from the lower parts of the Bionis.   
After a few minutes he noticed his cigar was done, so he dropped it on the ground and grounded it with the heel of his boot. There was some burn marks left on the floor and he could feel some High Entia glaring at the back of his head. They apparently didn’t approve of what he did. Whether it was his smoking or his way of putting out his cigar, he didn’t know. Probably both. He swiftly turned around and glared at them in turn, making them scatter like bugs. Within a few seconds they were all gone. What a bunch of sissies. He shook his head and turned back to the railing, resting his arms on it.  
After another few minutes he heard some footsteps heading his way. ‘What is it now?’ he wondered, turning around to see what was up. An apparently panicking High Entia man was hurrying in his direction. The man stopped right in front of him. He took a few seconds to catch his breath and compose himself.  
“I’m sorry for disturbing you” the man started. “My name is Vol’aren. I’m looking for my children, Atael and Cian. Have you seen them anywhere? ” Dickson took a few moments to think about it. He didn’t think he had seen any stray High Entia children.  
“Sorry, no. Haven’t seen ‘em.” Vol’aren was just about to start panicking.   
“Where could they have gone? They should have been back home more than an hour ago! I’ve been looking for them everywhere” The man looked like he was about to either pass out or start hyperventilating. Dickson almost felt like grabbing the man by his shoulders and shake him out of it. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried another approach.  
“So you have checked everywhere in the city?” He asked just to make sure.  
“Yes! And I can’t find them anywhere!” Great, the guy was panicking even more than before.  
“Well, is there any chance they went to Eryth Sea?” The guy paused slightly to think over it before violently shaking his head.  
“No, they wouldn’t go there. I have told them many times it’s too dangerous. They wouldn’t go there.” All right then. Dickson thought about it a few seconds before coming up with a plan.   
“All right then. How about you keep looking for them here in the city, and I go check Eryth Sea just in case.” The guy looked relieved and slightly worried at the same time. At least he stopped panicking.  
“Are you sure? It won’t be too much trouble?” Dickson shook his head.  
“No, no problem. I was going to check out Eryth Sea anyway. Besides, I got a kid of my own. I know what it’s like when you don’t know where they are.” This seemed to finally calm down the guy somewhat. He nodded enthusiastically.   
“All right. Thank you for your help.” Dickson just waved the guy off, already wandering toward the transporter that would take him to Eryth Sea. Good thing he brought his gunblade along. He was probably going to have to fight something whether or not he found the kids.   
Soon he reached the transporter and stepped through it to get to Eryth Sea. Finally some fresh air! The air in Alcamoth wasn’t bad or anything, but nothing could beat fresh night-air. All right, where should he start? He was currently standing at the central gate, right below the capital. There was a transporter that seemed to go to the hovering reefs, so he stepped through that one.   
He ended up on one of the hovering reefs. While walking on he couldn’t help noticing the nice atmosphere the place had. Most creatures just ignored him, just letting him walk right past them. When he looked to the left he could see a lighthouse a couple of reefs away. Would that be a place where a couple of children would go? Possibly.  
Soon he noticed the path split in two different directions. He stopped there to ponder which way he should go. Both roads had a transporter at the end. The one to the left seemed to be leading to the lighthouse. The one to the right seemed to be leading to…nowhere. At least not that he could see. So the lighthouse seemed like the better option. He was just about to turn left, when the transporter to the right flashed.   
When he turned toward it he saw a little girl running out of it. She seemed to be in panic, and running away from something. Must be one of Vol’aren’s kids. She hadn’t noticed him yet.  
“Hey, kid!” He yelled at her, stopping her for a moment, before she rushed straight to him, grabbing his arm. She looked to be about 7 years old. Of course, being a High Entia, that was not her actual age. She had small wings, showing she was half Homs. Must be her mother since Vol’aren had large wings, making him a full-blooded High Entia. But, whatever. She was looking up at him with big, teary eyes.  
“Mister, please help my brother! He got attacked by some monsters!” She tugged at his arm while talking, like she was trying to drag him along. “Please, Mister, hurry!” He let her lead him through the transporter she came from, leading to yet another hovering reef.   
There he saw two Kromars snapping at each other. Near them, curled up and backed into a corner, was a little High Entia boy. He looked to be a bit older than the girl clinging to his arm and like her, he had small wings. The Kromars seemed to be arguing, maybe about who would get to eat the boy. Dickson gently shook the girl of his arm and quietly told her to stay put and not to move while reaching for his gunblade.  
The Kromars didn’t even know he was there, giving him the advantage. Normally, he would just have shot both creatures and gotten over with it, but he figured these kids had been traumatized enough for one day. So instead, he charged at them, managing to push one of them right off the edge of the reef, making it fall down into the sea far below.  
The other one recovered from its surprise fairly quickly, and jumped at his back. It's claws dug painfully into his shoulders, as it tried to reach his neck with its jaws. Dickson shifted his grip on the gunblade slightly, before slamming it back into the creature. The blow connected with its head with a loud 'crack'. Its grip loosened, and it fell down, dead.  
The threat taken care of, Dickson put away his weapon, and focused his attention on the kid in front of him. He didn't look injured at least.  
"Hey, kid" He tried to calm down the boy, since he still seemed quite scared. "It's okay now. Let's get you two back to the city." The girl had now walked up to them, and the boy seemed a bit calmer. Then he pointed to his right ankle and said quietly.  
"It hurts. That's why the monsters caught me. I fell and hurt my ankle and then I couldn't run away from them." All right then, apparently it wouldn't be so easy as to just get the kids back. Dickson sighed internally, before motioning to the boy's ankle.  
"Well, better take a look then, to make sure it's not broken." He sat down in front of the boy and started checking his ankle. It didn't take him long to figure out what was wrong with it. He stood up again and picked up the boy at the same time.  
"It's just sprained. It'll be fine in a few days if you stay off it." He looked at both of the kids, who seemed relieved at the news. "Now let's get back before something else tries to make an evening meal out of you two."  
They started walking back to the capital, Dickson carrying the boy and the girl walking next to him. After a few minutes the boy asked him, curiously and slightly guiltily,  
"Aren't you going to ask why we were out here at night? Or something like that?" Dickson didn't even have to think about the answer.  
"No" At their confused glances, he explained. "It's not really any of my business. And I think your father is going to ask that, and some more." At that, the kids shut up and didn’t say anything the rest of the way.   
It didn’t take long before they reached the central gate and with that, Alcamoth. It did take a bit longer to find the kids father. He was running around the place like crazy, looking for his kids. As soon as he noticed Dickson with his children, he immediately rushed over.   
The girl who was walking next to Dickson, rushed to meet her father. She threw herself at him and started sobbing against his shoulder when he picked her up and hugged her tightly.  
Once Vol’aren had calmed down his daughter he turned his attention to his son, who Dickson was still holding. He had fallen asleep during the walk.  
“Is he alright?” He anxiously asked, looking worried.   
“He’s all right, got a sprained ankle. He’ll be fine in a couple of days if he stays of it.” This seemed to reassure Vol’aren, who reached over to take the kid of Dickson. He looked at Dickson with great gratitude.  
“Thank you for finding them” Then he looked at his daughter. “But what were you doing at Eryth Sea alone, and this late?” She shifted a bit where she was standing, keeping her eyes on the ground, looking like she was going to start crying again. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out an electric type ether crystal.   
“We got this for you, daddy” At his confused expression, she continued quietly. “It’s your birthday, and we wanted to get you something special. I heard Miss Ricoth tell her friend how ether crystals are more beautiful if you get them during a night of shooting stars. So we wanted to get one for you.”  
Dickson decided to leave the family to themselves. He turned around and walked back toward the palace with a wave of his hand. They didn’t even seem to notice him leaving, until the girl carefully waved back at him.  
He decided this was a good time to go back to bed, before he got roped into more family problems. Even though saving those kids gave him a nice feeling, something he would never admit it to anyone. Couldn’t let people think he was going soft. Because he wasn’t. Right?


End file.
